ANDY MURRAY made short work of Joao Sousa once again to race into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The two-time grand slam champion had never lost a set against his Portuguese opponent in four previous meetings and needed just 57 minutes to post a 6-0 6-2 victory.

Murray, who reached the final on his last appearance in Dubai three years ago, never had to get out of third gear thanks to 38 unforced errors from Sousa.

Sousa's poor record against the Scot seemed to be on his mind from the start, with his errors proving the crucial factor as Murray raced through the opening set in 21 minutes.

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Joao Sousa has never beaten Andy Murray

It was hard to tell how well the world number three was playing because his opponent was being so charitable, and a tally of two winners and 19 unforced errors from Sousa in six games told a sorry tale.

Murray sealed the first set with an ace and then broke serve again at the start of the second.

Sousa finally got on the board in the ninth game but his resistance was fleeting and another break for Murray made it 5-2 before he served out the victory with the minimum of fuss.